The Best Air Fryer Honey Garlic Salmon

Do you want to taste fresh, juicy and unique-flavored salmon? Try this air fryer honey garlic salmon!

Without complicated operations, just prepare the ingredients. With a few easy steps, you can enjoy delicious food at home and feel the unique flavor and texture!

Ingredients Needed

Salmon: The core ingredient, rich in high-quality protein, provides a tender taste and rich nutrition for the dish.
Sea salt, crushed black pepper: Season and remove fishy smell, highlight the umami of salmon and make its flavor more mellow.
Olive oil: Used for marinating to lock in the moisture of the fish and keep the fish tender after frying.
Garlic cloves, butter: Rich in garlic fragrance, butter adds a mellow milky fragrance. The combination of the two enhances the flavor.
Paprika: Adds a slightly spicy taste, enriches the taste levels and stimulates appetite.
Chopped parsley: With unique fragrance, it removes fishy smell and relieves greasiness, giving the dish a fresh breath.
Honey: Adds sweetness, forms an attractive color when fried and improves the taste.
Lemon slices: Remove fishy smell and increase fragrance. Its citric acid can soften the meat and make the salmon more tender.
Cherry tomatoes: Decorate with colors. The sour and sweet taste balances the overall flavor and enriches the taste.
Rosemary: Emits a unique aroma, adds Western-style flavor and makes the dish more stylish. 

How to choose salmon?

Packaging: Check for sealing, damage, air leakage or bulging. Problems will affect consumption.
Frost: A small amount and uniform frost is normal. Excessive and thick frost may be due to repeated freezing and thawing, which causes the fish to lose moisture.
Brand: Choose well-known brands for guaranteed quality. Refer to evaluations.
Label: Read clearly the origin, date and shelf life. Salmon produced in cold water areas has good meat quality.
If you buy fresh salmon, note the following when choosing:
Freshness: Choose salmon with shiny skin and firm and elastic flesh. Pressing it should rebound quickly. If it doesn't rebound, it is not fresh.
Color: It should be bright and uniform, orange-red. Avoid dull or white parts. Clear texture indicates fatness.
Origin and species: Cold water area varieties such as Norwegian salmon have tender meat and abundant fish oil and are suitable for this dish.
No peculiar smell: A slight smell of seawater is normal. Salmon with pungent sour or stinky smell cannot be used. 

Essential Tools

Air fryer: The core tool makes salmon crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It is healthier than frying. If there is no air fryer, an oven can be used instead, but the temperature and time need to be adjusted.

Garlic press: Used to press garlic cloves into mashed garlic. It is convenient and fast. If there is none, minced garlic can be made with a knife instead.

Container: Necessary when marinating salmon and preparing fish frying sauce. Ordinary bowls and plates are fine.

Oil paper: Place it in the air fryer to prevent food from sticking. Tinfoil can also play a similar role.

Tongs: Used to put in and take out food during the cooking process. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ingredient handling:
Don't thaw salmon with hot water or high-power microwave. It will make the fish cooked and lose moisture, resulting in dry and tough taste. Thaw it naturally.
Control the marinating time well. If it's too short, it won't be flavorful. If it's too long, it will be too salty. Half an hour is the best.
Sauce preparation:
When making the sauce, make sure the butter is fully melted. Otherwise, the seasonings will not be evenly mixed and affect the flavor.
The proportion of each seasoning cannot be messed up. Too much paprika will cover the freshness of the fish. Too little honey will result in poor color. Follow the recipe.
Using air fryer:
Preheat in advance. Otherwise, the salmon will not be heated evenly and the skin will not be crispy.
Set the temperature at 160℃ and the time at about 15 minutes. If it's inaccurate, the fish is easy to be overcooked or burnt.
Don't place the ingredients too closely. Leave gaps to ensure the circulation of hot air.